Worry for Tommorrow (Bible Study #13)
Dear DJAN Friends,
One of the things this pandemic has taken from many of us is a sense of "tomorrow." How can we plan for the future when our world is so uncertain, when an unpredictable virus seems to be in control? Against this backdrop, let's read the best-known statement about tomorrow in the New Testament, these enigmatic words from the Sermon on the Mount.
No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth [mammon]. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And can any of you by worrying add a single hour to your span of life? . . . Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What will we eat?' or "What will we drink?' or "What will we wear?' For it is the Gentiles who strive for all these things; and indeed your Heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But strive first for the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today
(Matthew 6:24-27, 31-34).
The first verse (serving two masters) is not always included with the rest of this passage, but it is crucial for understanding what follows. God is not our God if our allegiance is half-hearted and our service is part-time. If we cling to wealth or are devoted to success, then these are our "gods." By contrast, trust in the One who is truly God, Creator of heaven and earth, puts all of our anxieties in proper perspective–because the God who has given us life will surely give us the means to sustain it. Such trust (faith) frees us to deal with the needs of today without pointlessly worrying about what tomorrow will bring. You may be asking: Isn't planning for (and worrying about) the future part of what life is about? Even if we don't worry about our own tomorrow, shouldn't we worry about tomorrow for our neighbors who may be out of work or victims of injustice or suffering from disease? The wonder of scripture is not that it answers all of our questions, but that it invites us into an ongoing conversation about God and our place in this astonishing, tumultuous, often troubling world.
May God grant us understanding and commitment.
—Rev. Dr. Michael Kinnamon